Speed change device



Sept. 17,1935. w;|-|, JOHNSON 2,014,476 4 SPEED CHANGE DEVICE Filed June 4, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEYS Sept. 17, 1935. w. H. JOHNSON. 2,014,475

SPEED CHANGE DEVICE Filed June 4, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Tl N Q3 mi J .v\ k ow A QR v MW INVE'NTO BY Yum "a 49444 ATTORNEYS 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 4, 1932 ZJ INVENTI wwflyw AITTORNEYS Sept. 17, 1935.

w. H. JOHNSON SPEED CHANGE DEVICE Filed June 4, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 ATTORNEYS INVENT 31 Sept. 17, 1935. w H, JOHNSON I 2,014,476

SPEED CHANGE DEVI CE Filed June 4, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR BY JM 74 M) ATTORN EYS Patented Sept. 17, 1935 srasn CHANGE navron William Horace Johnson, Oranston, R. L, assignor to Weakenson Corporation, a corporation Rhode Island June 4, 1932, Serial No. 615,2;01

I 7 nisThe invention relates to change speed mecham. According to the invention a change speed arrangement is provided which may be manually Q controlled to give any desired speed ratio between driving and driven shafts. The speed ratio 4 may be accurately controlled by moving a single lever and the speed ratio may be changed graduaily so that an infinite number of speed ratios may be obtained. The inventionis capable of general application, but is particularly desirable gear and the driven shaft may be provided with an external gear and the control shaft may support a plurality of pairs of pinions engaging said 7 internal and external gears respectively.

The driving devicesbetween the drive shaft and.

control shaft may comprise a heart-shaped cam mounted on the'drive shaft which drives followers which in turn drive racks engaging pinions, the pinions being connected to a countershaft by one-way clutches. If desired, a-worm and worm wheel may be interposed between the countershaft and control shaft. Also the system may be so arranged that for high" or "direct drive the control shaft and driving mechanism therefor may be stationary, thus preventing all wear on these parts at this speed.

The invention also consists in certain new and original features of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter set forth and claimed.

Although the novel features which are believed to be characteristic of this invention will be particularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto, the invention itself, as to its objects and advantages, and the manner in which it may be carried out, may be better understood by referring to the following description taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, in' which Fig. 1 represents a longitudinal section through the speed change mechanism according to the invention taken on the line i-l of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectiontaken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1:

Fig. i is a section Taken on the line 4-4 of (Cl. ii-283) Fig. 5 is a detail taken on theline 5-5 of Fig 2; I

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 'I is a section on the line '|.I of Fig. 2 illustrating the construction of one of the oneway clutches;

Fig. 8 is a plan view, with parts broken away, of the speed change mechanism.

In the following description and in the claims, various details will be identified by specific names 10 for convenience,but they are intended to be as genericin their application as the art will permit.

Like reference characters denote like parts in the several figures of the drawings.

In the drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification, certain specific disclosure of the invention is made for purposes of explanatio but it. will be understood that the details may be modified in'various respects without departure from the broad aspect of the invention.

Beferring'now to the drawings, and more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, the speed change mechanism comprises a casing i0 enclosing all of the parts, a drive shaft II, a driven shaft l2 and a control shaft ii. The drive shaft may be 0011-; nected to the prime mover which may be an automobile engine, in which case the driven shaft' II will be connected to the drive wheels of the automobile. It will be understood that this mechanism may be used to drive, other devices where e a variable speed change is desirable, such as metal working machines, turret lathes, etc.

The casing iii is made up of a lower section ll, an intermediate section l5 and upper sections i6 and II. It will be understood that these sections are connected together by flanged unions in a manner well known in the art and the. joints therebetween may be oil tight to prevent escape of lubricating oil with which the casing may be filled and to prevent ingress of dirt.

The drive shaft ii is connected to flywheel .II, the flywheel being journalled in the casing sections it and I5 by a ball bearing IS. Secured to the flywheel i8 is an internal gear :0. h 45 The driven shaft I1 is journalled inbearing 2| supported by the casing sections I4 and i5 and in a pilot bearing 21 supported by a hub 23 on the flywheel IS. The driven shaft I2 supports a gear 24 which is driven'by the internal gear in through 50 a planetary gear arrangement, the construction of which is as follows.

Surrounding the driven shaft is the control sleeve II by the speed of. which the directionof j' rotation and the speed of the driven shaft I2 is 55 by bearings 55, are short pin shafts 29 carrying pairs of gears 25, 5|. The gears 3| mesh with the internal gear 25 and the gears 25 mesh with the spur gear 24.

The control shaft I3 is driven by a heart-shaped cam 55 (Figs. 1 and 2) secured to the flywheel i8 by a circular flange 35. Located on opposite sides of the heart-shaped cam 55 are follower rollers 51 mounted on shafts 35 secured to follower yoke 59. Follower yoke 59 is provided with a pair of upper collars 4| and a pair of lower collars 45 which slide up and down on posts or ways 42 secured at one end to bosses H2 and I45 in the easing section I4, and at the other end to a flanged transverse member 15 secured to the section l5. Secured to the yoke member 29 is a working beam 45 (Fig. 8) The working beam 43 is provided with a forked end through which a pin 44 passes to pivot it to the yoke 39. The working beam 45 is provided with two sections I44 and I45.

The part I45 is provided with a slot in which is located a pivot 45 which pivots the working beam 45 to a rack member 41, as will be described hereinafter.

For controlling the throw or movement of the rack member 41 a slidable pivot 45 is provided,

this pivot being slidable in a slot in the other part I44 of working beam 45. The pivot 45 is mounted on a block 45 which is slidable in a horizontal slot 55 secured to the casing section It. A control rod 45 connects the block 45 to operating devices (not shown), the rod passing out through a hole in the casing l1. By shifting the rod 45 lengthwise, the throw of the rack member 41 may be controlled, thereby controlling the speed of the control shaft If.

The rack member 41 (Fig. 5) is provided with a pair of racks 55 and 56 meshing with pinions 51 and 55 respectively. The rack member 41 is provided with collars 52 and 53' slidable on ways or postsg54 positioned between the bottom of the casing section i4 and the partition member 15.

The upper end of the rack member is forked to receive the part I45 of the working beam 45.

Thepinions 51 and 55 are secured to one-way l clutches 59 and 55, mounted on countershaft 5|. Countershaft 5| is journalled in bearings 52. 55

and 54 which are mounted on the casing section l4. Countershaft 5| supports worm 55 which meshes with worm wheel 55 mounted on control sleeve l5.

' As the rotation of the heart-shaped cam 55 the rack member 41 up and down, the latter drives the pinions 51 and 55. The onewey clutches 59 and 55 are so arranged that the shaft 5| is always driven in .the same direction.

The clutches 59 and 55 are disclosed for purpose of illustration as three roll" clutches since it is known that these-are very reliable in practice. It will be understood that any one-way clutch m be used. Since these clutches are similar it is only necessary to describe one in detail.

Referring to Figs. 2 and '7, the clutch is provided with an external casing made up of parts 51 and 55. These parts are joumalled on ball bearings 55 and 15 which are supported on' the shaft 5|.

Located within the clutch is an inner member 12 which is keyed to the shaft 5|. The casing 55 has inwardly projecting portions I58 between which are located wedge members 13. Balls 1| are located between the wedge members 13 and 4 the inner member 12. Spring pressed devices 14 are provided for wedging the balls between the wedge members 13 and the inner member 12.

It will be seen that, when the gear 51, which is attached to the casing member 51, is rotated in one direction, the casing of the clutch will merely slide over the inner clutch member 12 causing no driving force to be imparted to the shaft 5|. When the gear attached to the casing member 51 is rotated in the opposite direction this will cause the rollers 1| to be tightly wedged between thewedges 13 and the inner clutch member '12 causing the driving force to be imparted to the shaft 5|.

It is assumed that the drive shaft II will be driven at a constant speed in the same direction. This speed is assumed to be constant for purpose of illustration, but in the case of an automobile engine it is understood that it may be varied as the accelerator is operated in driving the car.

The drive shaft drives the driven shaft |2 directly through the gears 25, 3|, 25 and 24 (assuming the control shaft l5 to be stationary). The drive shaft may also drive the racks 55 and 55 depending upon the position of the control 30, rod 45. When the control rod 45 is in the position shown in Fig. 2, the flywheel I5, driven by the drive shaft ll, drives the heart-shaped cam 35, which in turn causes the yoke 59 to oscillate back and forth. This causes the work- 85. ing beam 45 to oscillate about the pivot 45, causing a corresponding reciprocating movement to be imparted to the rack member 41, driving the countershaft through the one-way clutches 59 and 55 always in the same direction. When the rack member 41 moves, say downwardly, the oneway clutch 55 drives the shaft 5|, and when the rack member 41 moves upwardly, the one-way clutch 59 drives the shaft 5|.

It will be noted that, when the control rod 24 may be so proportioned that, when the con- 50.

trol shaft is stationary, the drive is direct" or high. This is desirable in cases where direct drive is used most of the time since it saves wear on the one-way clutches and reciprocating parts.

As stated above, the direction and speed of 56:

rotation of the driven shaft is determined by the speed of rotation of the control shaft II. This in turn is determined by the position of the control lever 45.

When no movement is imparted to the driven 00:

shaft I2, the speed change device may be said to be in neutral". In this condition the control shaft I! must rotate in the same direction as the drive shaft II at a certain speed dependent upon the ratio of the planetary gears. In the present 05' case it may be about half the speed of the drive shaft. 1

Since the control shaft is stationary for direct drive and rotates at about half the speed of the drive shaft for neutral, the various grades 7ft. of speed control between high and neutral will result from rotating the control shaft at speeds between zero and half the drive shaft speed in the same direction therewith.

For reverse, the control shaft may be rotated 78;

- have been disclosed and are pointed out in.the

at a higher speed, say, for instance, flve-eighths of the drive shaft speed in the same direction therewith. This serves to rotate the driven shaft l2 in opposite direction from the drive shaft, say at about one to four speed reduction.

The present invention has many advantages.

When the control shaft i3 is stationary and the speed change device is in high, there is no operation of the reciprocating rack member or one-way clutches, .and a positive interlocking drive between driving and driven shafts is obtained. Another advantage of the invention is the obtaining of an infinite number'of speed ratios from high through neutral to reverse.

A further advantage of the invention is long life due not only to the fact that the one-way clutches arenot operating a large part of the time, but also by the fact that three roll clutches will stand up in use for longer periods of time. A still further advantage of the invention is the obtaining of constant speedof the driven shaft when not in high due to the employment of the heart-shaped cam which is so designed as to give constant lineal speed to the rack member 41 as it reciprocates back and forth. Another advantage of the invention is the provision of a nonreversible drive between the countershaft 6i and control shaft l3 through the worm and worm wheel 65, 66. This prevents all movement of the control shaft except under control of the rack member 41, holding the control shaft l3 absolutely stationary when in direct drive.

While certain novel features of the invention annexed claims, it will be understood that various omissions, substitutions and changes may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a speed changedevice, a drive shaft, a

driven shaft, gearing between said shafts, a control member cooperating with said gearing, a cam driven by said drive shaft, a follower on said cam, a rack operated by said follower, a gear operated by said rack, a counter shaft, aoneway clutch between said counter shaft and gear, a worm driven by said counter shaft and aworm wheel on said control member and meshing with saidworm. f

2. In a speed change device, a drive shaft, a

' driven shaft, gearing between said shafts, a con trol member-cooperating with said gearing, a

heart shape cam driven by said drive shaft, a. follower on said cam, a pair of racks operated bysaid follower, a pair of;gears operated by said racks, a counter shaft, "a pair of one-way clutches V betweensaid counter shaft and gears, a worm drive and driven shaft.

on said counter shaft, a worm wheel on saidcon trol member and meshing with said worm, and

means for varying the amplitude of movement" of said racks to vary the ratio between said ;3. In a speed change device,.a drive a heart-shaped cam driven thereby, a follower -for said cam, a pair of racks operated by said follower,

gears meshing said racks respectively, a countercontrol of said control shaft, a worm wheel on said control shaft, and a worm meshing with said worm wheel and driven by said countershaft.

4. In a speed change transmission device, a drive shaft having a gear secured thereto, a driven shaft, a control sleeve surrounding said 10 driven shaft, a pin carried by said control sleeve and carrying gearing said driven gear and said driving gear, a heart-shaped cam driven by-said drive shaft, a pair of followers on opposite sides of said cam, a slide carrying said followers, a counter-shaft, a pair of gears on said counter-shaft, a one-way clutch between each gear and said counter-shaft, said clutches operating in opposite directions, a rack member having a pair of racks engaging the opposite sides of said gears respectively, a control bar having a block, ways for said block, a pivot connected to said block, a working beam having a slot engaging said pivot, said working beam also be pivoted to said follower slide andto said rack member, a worm onsaid counter-shaft and a worm wheel on said control sleeve, said worm wheel meshing with said worm.

5. Ineombination, a drive shaft, a driven shaft,

a control shaft, planetary gears supported by said control shaft, gears on said drive and driven shafts meshing with said planetary gears. a cam on said drive shaft, a working beam driven by said cam, a rack driven by said working beam,

a one-way clutch driven by said rack, a nonreversible drive between said clutch and said control shaft, and means for changing the fulcrum point of said working beam. I

6. In a speed change'device, a drive shaft, a driven shaft, gearing between said shafts, a con- 40 trol member cooperating with said gearing, a cam and follower mechanism driven by said drive shaft, a rack driven by said cam and follower mechanism, a pinion operated .by said rack, a

counter-shaft, a one-way clutch between said internal gear connected thereto, a driven shaft,

a control shaft, a support fixedly secm'ed to said control shaft, adriving gear on said driven shaft,

a pair of gears connected to rotate together and journalled on said support, said pair of gears meshing said internal gear and said driving gear respectively, the relative number of teeth on said gears being such that said'control shaft is stationary when said driven shaft rotates at the same speed as said drive shaft, a separate power transmitting path between said drive shaft and control shaft for impressing a driving torque on said control shaft, and'adjustable means in said path for governing the speed ratio between said drive shaft and said control shaft.

H. JOHNSON. 

